Dozens missing after boat fire
Fire ravaged scuba vessel off California coast as divers slept below deck
SANTA BARBARA, CALIF.— A fire raged through a boat carrying recreational scuba divers anchored near an island off the Southern California coast early Monday, leaving at least eight people dead and hope diminishing that any of the 26 people still missing would be found alive.
Five crew members escaped by jumping off the boat and taking refuge on an inflatable boat.
Rescuers recovered four bodies from the waters just off Santa Cruz Island and spotted four others on the ocean near where the fire-raged boat sank. They were continuing to search for survivors, but Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester cautioned that it was unlikely anyone else would be found alive.
“We will search all the way through the night into the morning, but I think we should all be prepared to move into the worst outcome,” she told a news conference.
The four bodies plucked from the ocean about 145 kilometres northwest of Los Angeles all had injuries consistent with drowning, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll said.
It wasn’t immediately clear when the bodies on the ocean floor might be retrieved or when divers could search the boat for others.
The fire broke out aboard the vessel Conception around 3 a.m. off Santa Cruz Island, part of a chain of rugged wind-swept isles that form Channel Islands National Park in the Pacific Ocean west of Los Angeles. The five crew members who escaped were rescued by a good Samaritan boat called The Grape Escape that was anchored nearby.
The Grape Escape’s owners, Bob and Shirley Hansen, told the New York Times they were asleep when they heard pounding on the side of their 18-meter fishing vessel about 3:30 a.m. and discovered the frightened crew members.
“When we looked out, the other boat was totally engulfed in flames, from stem to stern,” Bob Hansen said, estimating it was no more than 100 yards from his craft. “I could see the fire coming through holes on the side of the boat. There were these explosions every few beats. You can’t prepare yourself for that. It was horrendous.”
Hansen said he and his wife gave the crew clothes and two of them went back toward the Conception looking for survivors. Asked at a news conference if the crew tried to help others aboard, Rochester told reporters, “I don’t have any additional information.”
Rochester said the 20-meter commercial scuba diving vessel was anchored in Platts Harbor, about 18 metres off the northern coast of Santa Cruz Island, when the fire ignited.
The Conception, based in Santa Barbara Harbor on the mainland, was on the final day of a Labour Day weekend cruise to the Channel Islands when the fire erupted.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said the elements of the tragedy were daunting for rescuers: The boat was in a remote location with limited firefighting capabilities, passengers were sleeping below deck in the middle of the night and there was a quick-moving fire.
The Conception was chartered by Worldwide Diving Adventures, which says on its website that it has been taking divers on such expeditions since the 1970s. It was owned and operated by Truth Aquatics, a Santa Barbara-based company founded in 1974.
Coast Guard records show inspections of the Conception conducted last February and, in August 2018, found no deficiencies. Earlier inspections found some safety violations related to fire safety.
Records show all safety violations from the past five years were quickly addressed by the boat’s owners.
Dave Reid, who has travelled on the Conception and two other boats in Truth Aquatics’ fleet, said he considered all three among the best and safest diveboats around.
Reid said divers sleep overnight in an open bunk room on the vessel’s lowest deck. Coming up to the top deck to get off the boat requires navigating a narrow stairway with only one exit. If the fire was fast-moving, he said, it’s very likely divers couldn’t escape and the crew couldn’t get to them.
The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a team to investigate.